4 Common Health Problems in Senior Horses

In old age, horses are more susceptible to diseases and some of them can be chronic as well. You, as a horse parent, can’t prevent diseases completely but you can still treat those diseases with the help of some really good treatments. And, to treat them you need to have knowledge of the health problems in horses.

Arthritis in Horses

Arthritis and joint pain are also problems that can trouble your horse in both young and old age. This can reduce your horse’s mobility because of pain. Make sure that you feed supplements that are rich in glucosamine, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM.

Weight Problem in Horses

Horses in their old age, struggle to maintain a healthy weight because of many reasons like dental problems and joint health issues. Make sure you feed a healthy diet and also exercise your house. Moreover, take care of joints because joint pain can restrict your horse from any physical activity.

Dental Problems in Horses

Dental health problems are also very common in elderly horses. Uneven grinding can result in loose molars and pointed teeth. As a result, cuts on the tongue and underside of the teeth are developed. This results in poor eating habits and weight loss.

Worms in Horses

Worms like Redworms, Roundworms, tapeworms, strongyles, small strongyles, hairworms, pinworms, intestinal threadworms, large-mouth stomach worms, neck threadworm, and stomach bots are very common in horses. These worms trouble your horse in old age and cause several health issues like reduced immunity, weakness, damage to internal organs, respiratory problems, poor growth, colic, anemia, ulceration, and in some cases this infestation can be life-taking as well.

Hence, to treat these worms you should regularly administer wormers like – Panacur Equine Guard for roundworms, Eqvalan Paste for worms, Bimectin, and Equitape Horse Wormer for tapeworms.

Furthermore, there are some more serious diseases like Horse Cushing’s disease in which they drink excessive water and urinate equivalently more and have pot belly appearance. You need to contact your vet to diagnose this disease as he might take several blood samples to confirm this.